King of the keys made jazz a pleasure
The News Review:
- King of the keys made jazz a pleasure
- Once a NY jazz phenom blind pianist Alex Kallao shines in SF
- Music From Youngsters in Mechanics Hall
- Canadian band makes music real family affair
- Jazz Performances on YouTube
- Joel Dorn; record producer; 65
King of the keys made jazz a pleasure
Globe and Mail – Dec 26, 2007
Nor did his body betray any sense of exertion except to the extent that he was very obviously enjoying himself. Watching Peterson at the keyboard was a bit like watching a duck on a pond – his fingers may have been skittering furiously across the keys but the rest of him seemed to float effortlessly. It was the sort of display that made jazz piano appear not only fun but almost as easy as singing something Peterson also did shadowing his solos with gruff breathless scat singing. Related Articles From the archives… His albums with Basie are a case in point. At first glance the two seem little more than a Mutt and Jeff act with tall musically garrulous Peterson appearing utterly at odds with the short taciturn Basie. But the music they made together was playful witty and wonderfully simpatico as notable for what wasn’t played as for what was. Above all the albums with Basie were an absolute gas and that was perhaps the most striking characteristic of Peterson’s approach to piano. He didn’t play like he wanted to change the world or make the audience see things through the prism of his personal vision; he played like he wanted everyone else to have as much fun as he was having. It may not have been the most profound reason to play jazz but it was a damn good reason to listen.
Once a NY jazz phenom blind pianist Alex Kallao shines in SF
San Francisco Chronicle – Dec 26, 2007
I become possessed by the music and what I feel at the time” Kallao said one night last week between sets at Chez Spencer on 14th Street. He plays there for the dinner crowd Wednesday through Saturday. A prodigy who began at the age of 3 and was playing classical music and jazz professionally in his early teens Kallao was a sensation in Manhattan in the mid-1950s. Billed as “the blind piano genius” or “the next Art Tatum” – a reference to the nearly blind jazz piano giant – Kallao and his group played top clubs opposite Ella Fitzgerald and Erroll Garner toured the country and opened for Count Basie at Carnegie Hall. But when his first marriage fell apart he left New York and the national limelight for Detroit where he’d grown up. He remarried had three kids and supported them by playing local spots like the London Chop House and the Hotel Pontchartrain’s Top of the Pontch as well as the occasional symphonic gig (he performed Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto with the Detroit Symphony under Walter Poole’s baton). For the past two decades Kallao has been living alternately in Las Vegas where two of his three grown children are and San Francisco where he jobbed around in the ’90s and where he has returned to revive his career.
Music From Youngsters in Mechanics Hall
NPR – Dec 26, 2007
Trumpet player Kyla Moscovich 15 studies at the Pre-college Division of the Manhattan School of Music. In addition to being an accomplished classical musician she loves playing jazz. “My dad plays trumpet and I grew up going to jazz concerts and jazz clubs” she says. Moscovich also sings plays piano and percussion and loves to dance and play sports. “I like to do so many things” she says “but I hope to ultimately go in the direction of music as long as I can balance it all out. ” She plays “With Strength and Vigor” by Kent Kennan accompanied by Christopher O’Riley. Andy Zhou 16 started playing piano when he was six but it was not love at first encounter.
Canadian band makes music real family affair
Seattle Times – Dec 26, 2007
But many also come with French roots. “Canada is very open culturally. It’s a culture that’s very accepting with being within a border but having pride in your ancestry and where you come from” said Solon McDade of The McDades a group whose music has Celtic roots but with overlays of jazz and world music. The McDades perform Friday at the Edmonds Center for the Arts. In this brother-sister group fiddler Shannon Johnson 38 is the eldest followed by bassist Solon 33 and multi-instrumentalist Jeremiah McDade 30. Joining them in this concert are drummer Eric Breton and guitarist Simon Marion. Shannon Solon and Jeremiah performed with their parents Terry and Danielle McDade as the McDade Family Band for 20 years off and on… Joining them in this concert are drummer Eric Breton and guitarist Simon Marion. Shannon Solon and Jeremiah performed with their parents Terry and Danielle McDade as the McDade Family Band for 20 years off and on. “We really have a lot of respect for classical and jazz musicians and people who are masters of their instruments” said Solon McDade. The McDades are known for their expert blending of sounds taking influences from many different cultures. “We take a lot of inspiration from Europe North Africa India China Eastern Europe” he said. Friday’s concert features 19 or 20 songs from two albums “For Reel” and “Bloom” their latest CD winner of a Juno Award Canada’s equivalent of the Grammy. There’s also new material not yet recorded.
Jazz Performances on YouTube
pcworld.com – Dec 26, 2007
I have two more super spots for you to look at. Start with FoxyTunes a wonderful site for digging up videos of live music performances.
Joel Dorn; record producer; 65
San Diego Union Tribune – Dec 26, 2007
Dorn's career included recording jazz greats such as Max Roach and Herbie Mann then discovering and shaping pop musicians such as the Allman Brothers. He infused pop music with soul and jazz and helped win a number of Grammy Awards for Atlantic then built a distinctive career with other companies some of which he founded by repackaging older releases and unearthing unknown recordings from private collections and elsewhere. He claimed to be guided by intuition saying in an interview with The Philadelphia City Paper in 1997 “A bell goes off in your stomach when you see or hear something that grabs you. Dorn was born in Yeadon Pa.